Do You Really Need A Loft Conversion?

Moving to a new home just to gain an additional room is something that many people do but a well designed and constructed loft conversion can be a really good alternative. London and the south east house prices are very fickle often declining, so moving house at the moment can be very risky just to get that additional room and you could lose out heavily. With the additional costs of stamp duty, increased mortgages, legal fees and paying removal companies it can really be expensive.

So if you need that extra room what do you do? A loft conversion is a very good idea as it will meet your requirements for that other room and it will add value to your precious home. A leading high street building society – the Alliance and Leicester – discovered that a well planned and built loft conversion can see the value of your property soar by as much as £40,000. You also have the benefit of not moving house and all of the costs that come
with that.

A change in the planning laws in 2008 has seen a real surge in loft conversions. The law changed to “permitted development” when it comes to loft conversions
which means that most conversions will not require local government planning permission. This should not be confused with building regulations as these still need to be adhered to as the conversion will be used for additional living space.

It is natural to consider the price as a high priority when deciding upon loft conversion estimates. But you need to be careful here as an inferior conversion will not add value to your home and may even decrease it. Temporary staircases are not recommended and estate agents will tell you this really doesn’t add much value. Paying for a professionally designed and constructed job may seem painful now but it will pay back in spades when you come to sell your property.

Loft conversions have lots of advantages over traditional extensions so what are they? The advantages are numerous. Whatever kind of house that you own it is
very likely that it will be suitable for a loft conversion. The cost of a loft conversion is also likely to be a lot less than a home extension would be and there is no need to lose valuable outdoor space as well. Local government planning permission will almost certainly be required for an extension whereas a loft conversion shouldn’t under permitted development. Another major advantage is that loft conversions often take less time to plan and build which means that you are not sharing your
home with local builders for weeks on end.

It is even possible to reduce the world’s carbon footprint by installing solar panels in your loft conversion to aide in the generation of electricity and hot water. Your electricity bill should be reduced also. Incentives are available from the government for householders who install solar panels for the generation of electricity and water incentives are on the way.

The final price that you can expect to pay for your loft conversion depends on the
structural requirements for the flooring, the size and shape of your loft, whether or not water tanks need to be moved and a whole host of other factors. Whatever the final price it should always be a good investment.